Need a fudge-like chocolate buttercream recipe? This one is easy enough for beginners but will taste like it was made by an expert!
This one can be modified for building cakes, fancy buttercream designs or creamy enough fro an easy sheet cake.
Have you ever looked up a recipe for icing just to find out you need to boil ingredients or mix cream until a specific texture? I know that I sure have and let me tell you that I feel the same way and often just keep scrolling through Pinterest until I find an easier one.
I took an old chocolate recipe of my grandmothers and made a few adjustments to make it just a little richer to make the best chocolate buttercream. Keep reading for how you can make the smallest adjustments to make it work for whatever baking you are pairing it with.
Love chocolate? Keep reading !
ally’s tips for making butter based buttercream
A fun fact about me is I *almost* never make a buttercream that is cream based, always butter based. That’s how my grandmother June always made her buttercream and to be honest, until I was in my early 20’s I didn’t know any different than what I had grown up with.
What’s the difference?
- A butter based buttercream will tend to “harden” on the outside once it has been exposed to air. It keeps it’s softness inside but tends to have a harder “shell” whereas a cream based buttercream or whipped buttercream will stay soft inside and out.
I personally find it easier to make butter based buttercream because the key to it is all in the first step. As long as you cream the butter and sugar together on med-high until fully combined it makes it light and fluffy. Cream can be a bit more fussy to work with but it really comes down to personal preference!
butter temperature matters
If you are going to be piping with this icing, I recommend using cold butter and mixing longer on the first step until combined. This will give you the stability you need to pipe designs with.
- when you first start with the butter and sugar, beat butter and sugar together for 2 mins until completely combined, mixture should be light in colour
- when making chocolate buttercream, scrape the bottom and sides of your bowl frequently to ensure that it is all combined and that you don’t have and butter bits in your icing
- make sure all ingredients are at the same temperature. Adding cold milk to a warm butter mixture can cause the butter to clump together, making it very hard or not possible to cream back together.
a few ways to change these up:
- If you want an extra creamy buttercream, add 1-2 tbsp extra of milk. I wouldn‘t recommend this if you are piping with this recipe.
- Like Dark Chocolate? Use only 1/2 cup of cocoa powder and sub 1/2 cup of melted dark or unsweetened chocolate at the end.
storage:
Iced on a cake/cupcakes/cookies: up to 5 days in airtight container. I recommend lining any container that has a cake or cupcakes inside with a piece of paper towel to absorb any extra moisture.
Make ahead: store in fridge for up to 3-4 weeks in an airtight container.
Make way ahead: make up to 3 months in advance and freeze. When ready to use, remove from freezer for 3-4 hours until comes to room temperature.
follow along below if you get stuck:
easy chocolate buttercream
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Electric Mixer
- Spatula
- optional: piping bag & tips if cake decorating
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup salted butter cold or room temp, see notes
- 4 cups icing sugar divided
- 1/2 cup milk room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup cocoa powder
Instructions
- Start by adding butter to the large mixing bowl and add 1-2 cups of icing sugar. Mix on low to start combining and then increase speed to medium-high and beat butter and sugar together for 2 mins until completely combined, mixture should be light in colour. This is the time to make sure your butter and sugar are completely creamed together or you may have small butter bits in your icing.
- Once fully combined, scrape bowl with spatula to make sure no butter is sitting at the bottom. This is especially important with chocolate icing because any ingredients that are not completely combined are very noticeable.
- Add remaining icing sugar. Be sure to start mixing slowly or all the icing sugar will come up and out of the bowl. Use a mixing bowl guard if you have one.
- Once you start mixing the mixture will become very dry, add your vanilla and then milk. I usually add my milk half at a time mixing in between. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl once or twice during this step to ensure everything is combined.
- Add the cocoa powder and mix until combined. Again, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl once or twice to ensure that it is fully combined.
- Decorate accordingly!
